UN: World food prices close to a four-year high in September

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has said world food prices rose in September to their highest level in almost four years, as logistics disruptions and weather concerns affected crop markets.

Fears of a harsh weather pattern such as El Niño have pushed international sugar prices to their highest level in 18 months, while a war-related collapse in Black Sea trade pushed wheat futures to a three-year peak early last month.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices for a basket of food commodities, averaged 136.0 points, up from a revised figure of 134.0 for August and the highest reading since November 2022.

FAO benchmark gauges for cereal, sugar and vegetable oil prices all rose last month, although meat and dairy quotations fell.

“We are seeing a sustained and increasingly broad rise in global commodity prices, as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea combine with climate shocks, putting pressure on energy, transport and staple food commodities,” said FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero. “If they persist, these pressures will soon pass through to consumer food prices, especially in countries that depend on food and energy imports,” he said in a statement.

In a separate report, FAO kept its forecast for global cereal production in 2026 almost unchanged at 2.979 billion metric tons, 2.1% below last year’s peak, but still the second-largest harvest ever recorded. FAO lowered its forecast for world cereal trade in 2026/27 by 0.7% from September, citing lower expectations for wheat and maize exports, mainly because of limited Black Sea shipping routes.